Olketa Wave wea Killim Dae—Olketa Kastom Story and Olketa Tru Samting

SUN hem go daon tu-thri minute nomoa. Long disfala kwaetfala Friday, July 17, 1998, olketa man, woman, and pikinini long tu-thri smol vilij long north coast bilong Papua New Guinea seke long wanfala magnitude-7.1 earthquake. Scientific American hem sei: “Main seksek, sekem 30 kilometer (klosap 19 mile) bilong saedsea . . . and kwiktaem changem sheip long botom bilong sea. Diswan kosim antap bilong sea wea hem evritaem flat for muv ap, long there nao wanfala samting for fraetem hem born, wanfala tsunami.”

Wanfala man wea lukim hem sei hem herem saond olsem thunder, wea gogo for finis taem sea level hem gogo moa low winim mark bilong low-tide. Tu-thri minute bihaen, hem lukim firstfala wave, wea hem samting olsem thri meter hae. Wave hia winim hem taem hem trae for ranawe. Mek-tu wave wea hem moa big hem finisim vilij bilong hem and karem hem klosap wan kilometer long olketa mangrove. Science News talem hao “olketa rabis wea stap antap long olketa palm showim hao olketa wave kasem 14 meter hae.”

Long datfala naet olketa bigfala wave killim dae samting olsem 2,500 pipol. Wanfala timba company donatem timba for olketa niu skul, bat sorre tumas, klosap no eni pikinini stap for go long skul. Klosap evriwan—winim 230—tsunami killim dae.

Wanem Nao Tsunami?

Tsunami hem languis bilong Japan wea minim “harbor wave.” Diswan hem “barava fitim,” disfala buk Tsunami! hem talem, “from olketa bigfala wave hia planti taem bringim kam dae and bigfala distroe long olketa harbor and vilij long saedsea long Japan.” Wanem nao givim olketa danger wave hia bigfala paoa and size?

Samfala taem olketa kolem tsunami tidal wave. Bat, for tok stret, tidal wave minim nomoa wei wea sea hem muv followim pull bilong sun and moon wea iumi kolem tide. Nomata olketa maeti wave—wea maet samfala winim 25 meter—wea olketa wind nao mekem kamap, hem no fitim for markem witim olketa tsunami. Sapos iu daev andanit long olketa tidal wave hia, iu bae faendem hao paoa bilong olketa hem katdaon taem iu go deep moa. Kasem wanfala mark, wata hem no muv nao. Bat hem no olsem witim olketa tsunami. Paoa bilong olketa hem start long antap go kasem botom long sea, nomata wata hem maet samfala kilometer deep!

Wanfala tsunami hem deep fogud bikos planti taem bigfala earthquake long botom long sea nao kosim. From diswan, olketa savveman samfala taem kolem olketa tsunami olketa earthquake wave. Sea botom maet muv ap lelebet, and forcem wata antap for boela go ap, wea diswan maet kavarem area olsem 25,000 square kilometer. Or sea botom maet sink daon, wea for lelebet taem hem mekem antap bilong sea sink daon.

Eniwan long tufala, gravity forcem wata hia for muv ap and daon—kaen muv wea startim olketa circle wave, olsem taem wanfala ston hitim wata long kwaet ples. Wei wea diswan hem happen hem mekem disfala story hao tsunami hem wanfala danger wave wea kamap seleva nomoa hem no tru. Winim datwan, olketa muv aot wan bihaenem narawan long wanem olketa savve kolem wanfala tsunami train. Olketa volcano or graon wea foldaon andanit long sea maet startim wanfala tsunami tu.

Wanfala worse taem bilong olketa tsunami long history wea olketa raetem hem taem wanfala volcano, Krakatau long Indonesia, hem bosta long August 1883. Samfala wave wea kamaot from diswan hem barava hae tumas olsem 41 meter hae winim level bilong sea and hem wasim awe 300 taon and vilij long saedsea. Olketa wea dae insaed mas winim 40,000.

Tufala Difren Fasin Bilong Tsunami

Olketa wave wea wind nomoa wakem hard for winim 100 kilometer insaed wan hour, and klosap evritaem olketa slow winim. “Bat long narasaed, olketa tsunami wave,” disfala buk Tsunami! talem, “maet travel fast olsem wanfala jet plane, winim or kasem 800 kilometer insaed wan hour long deep wata bilong big sea, wanfala speed wea hard for bilivim.” Bat, nomata olketa speed fogud, olketa no danger tumas long deep sea. Why nao olsem?

First samting, hem bikos long open sea, wanfala wave maet no winim thri meter hae; and mek-tu samting, hem from staka handred kilometer maet stap midolwan long olketa wave, diswan minim wave hem no steep tumas. Dastawe, olketa tsunami savve go andanit long wanfala ship and olketa no savve. Captain bilong wanfala ship wea stap klosap long wanfala island long Hawaii no savve wanfala tsunami hem go pas long hem go kasem taem hem lukim olketa bigfala wave bangam saedsea farawe. For stap sef long sea olketa ship need for kasem wata wea hem kasem 180 meter deep or winim.

Fasin bilong olketa tsunami savve change taem olketa kam klosap long land and kasem wata wea no deep tumas. Kasem hia, wei wea wave hem tasim sea botom mekem hem slow daon—bat no long wei wea semsem. Baksaed bilong wave evritaem stap long wata wea moa deep winim front and diswan mekem hem muv fast lelebet winim. So diswan minim, wave hem skwis, wea mekem hem slow daon bat long semtaem mekem hem kamap moa hae. Long semtaem, olketa wave wea stap bihaenem olsem train start for kasem and bangam olketa wave long front.

Long last part bilong gogo bilong olketa, olketa tsunami maet kasem saedsea olsem wave wea white antap or olsem wanfala wall wata wea olketa kolem bore, bat klosap evritaem, olketa kam olsem wanfala bigfala flood wea muv kwiktaem. Samfala story stap wea wata kasem 50 meter hae winim sea level and karem rabis, fish, and coral staka handred meter antap long land, and spoelem evri samting front long hem.

Long wei wea savve trikim man, firstfala saen bilong kakam bilong wanfala tsunami hem no evritaem wei wea sea hem start for boela and speed go long saedsea. Hem maet difren evribit—olsem tide hem go aot and leavim olketa sandbis, and harbor drae witim olketa laef fish antap long sand or mud. Samting wea disaedem wanem nao happen hem wanem part bilong disfala wave train hem kasem saedsea firstaem—hae part or low part.a

Taem Sandbis Hem Kamap Drae

Hem wanfala kwaet evening long November 7, 1837, long Maui wanfala island bilong Hawaii. Disfala buk Tsunami! talem hao long samting olsem seven klok long datfala evening, wata hem start for go aot from sandbis, wea showimaot reef and leavim fish stap drae. Planti pipol bilong ples hia ran go for pikimap fish, bat samfala man, wea garem fasin for luksavve, ran go long hae ples, maet from olketa experiencem finis samting wea klosap for happen. No longtaem bihaen, wanfala big hip wata wea mekem man fraet hem kam and tekem full vilij bilong 26 leaf haos, witim pipol and animal, 200 meter antap long land and lusim olketa long wanfala wata long there.

Long datfala sem evening, samfala thousand pipol hipap long sandbis bilong wanfala difren island for wanfala service bilong religion. Olsem bifor, wei wea wata hem kwiktaem go aot hem mekem staka long olketa bilong Hawaii hia for go daon long sandbis. Then, seknomoa, wanfala giant wave kamap, wea 6 meter hae winim hae-wata mark, and speed kam long sandbis “witim fast olsem wanfala horse wea resis,” wanfala man wea lukluk hem sei. Bihaen, taem wata go aot hem tekem nomata man wea strong for swim go aot long sea, wea samfala draon from olketa kamap taed tumas.

Haomas Taem Nao Olketa Savve Kam?

“Start kam from 1990,” Scientific American hem sei, “10-fala tsunami tekem laef bilong winim 4,000 pipol. Evriwea long world namba bilong olketa kasem 82—namba wea moa hae winim average bilong history for garem 57 nomoa insaed long evri 10 year.” Bat, disfala namba wea kamap moa big, magasin go ahed for talem, hem kam from gudfala communication, and wei wea namba bilong pipol wea dae kamap moa big hem from namba bilong pipol wea stap long saedsea hem kamap moa big.

Pacific Ocean garem staka tsunami bikos sea botom garem staka earthquake. Tru nao, “klosap no eni year hem go pas wea wanfala or moa tsunami wea distroe hem no kasem samwea long Pacific,” wanfala buk hem sei, wea talem tu hao “insaed long last fifti year, 62 percent bilong evri dae wea join witim earthquake long United States, tsunami nao kosim.”

Olketa Savve Talem Firstaem?

Midolwan 1948 and 1998, klosap 75 percent bilong olketa warning for tsunami long Hawaii olketa false alarm nomoa. Iumi minim hao kaen wei olsem no mekem pipol tinghae tumas long olketa warning. Bat, wanfala niu wei for savve firstaem, wea iusim olketa niu machine, olketa start for iusim. Main part bilong disfala niu wei for savve firstaem hem wanfala botom pressure recorder (BPR), wea, olsem nem talem, hem stap staka thousand meter long daon, long botom long sea.

Disfala barava spesol machine savve markem smolfala wei wea wata pressure hem change taem wanfala tsunami go pas antap—nomata wanfala wea hae bilong hem wan centimeter nomoa. Disfala BPR iusim olketa saond wave for sendem olketa information go ap long wanfala buoy, wea sendem go long wanfala satellite long skae. And then, datfala satellite sendem go information hia long tsunami-warning center. Olketa scientist biliv disfala wei for givim warning firstaem wea hem moa stret bae stopem olketa false alarm.

Samfala important wei for mekhae long hao for stap sef hem maet wei for mekem pablik luksavve and education. Nomata nambawan wei for givim warning stap, hem iusles sapos pipol no lisin. So sapos iu stap long wanfala ples wea savve garem tsunami, wanfala ples klosap long saedsea, and olketa bigman givim tsunami warning or iu feelim wanfala earthquake or lukim wei wea sea hem go aot wea difren from evritaem, iu mas kwiktaem lukaotem ples wea hae. No forget, long open sea, tsunami savve speed olsem wanfala jet plane and taem hem kam klosap long sandbis hem savve speed olsem wanfala trak long big road. Luk olsem sapos iu weit kasem taem iu lukim wave, iu bae hard for ranawe winim hem. Bat sapos iu meetim wanfala tsunami taem iu long open sea long boat or fishing, iu no need for fraet—kap coffee or drink bilong iu bae sidaon gud nomoa and no foldaon.

[Footnote]

[Piksa long page 2]

(Lukim pablikeson for olketa nara information)

Olketa tsunami planti taem start from wanfala earthquake long botom long sea

START BILONG HEM

EARTHQUAKE

GROW BILONG HEM

TAEM FLOOD HEM KAM

[Piksa long page 31]

(Lukim pablikeson for olketa nara information)

Olketa niu idea, wea iusim olketa machine long deep sea, trae for savve firstaem olketa tsunami

SATELLITE LINK

BUOY

HYDROPHONE

ANKA

ACOUSTIC LINK

TSUNAMI DETECTOR

5,000 meter

[Credit Line]

Karen Birchfield/NOAA/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

[Piksa long page 29]

Wanfala tsunami sutim disfala timba thru long disfala trak tyre

[Credit Line]

U.S. Geological Survey

[Olketa piksa long page 30]

Scotch Cap lighthouse long Alaska bifor wanfala tsunami long 1946 (left saed)

Bihaen hem full distroe (antap)

[Credit Line]

U.S. Coast Guard photo

[Credit Line long page 28]

U.S. Department of the Interior